Haute in Florida: Designer boutiques and high-end fashion

» A “made to order” section (left) where men can have shoes custom designed from 3,000 options and then handmade in Italy’s Veneto region. The Aventura store is the only LV store in North America to offer this service.

» A Haute Maroquinerie salon where women can design their own handbags (five shapes, 26 colors, eight skins and 40,000 possibilities), which are crafted in the Louis Vuitton Asnières atelier in Paris.

» A sculpture by Cuban artist Jorge Pardo commissioned by Louis Vuitton specifically for this location along with rotating in-store art exhibits by various contemporary artists.

Referring to the new Louis Vuitton Maison store in Aventura as a boutique is like calling Buckingham Palace the queen’s house. This is indeed the travel destination that it was conceived to be by Peter Marino, the architect who designed the two-story haven for luxury lovers, with its private entrance, polished stainless-steel grand staircase with leather-wrapped handrails winding through the center of the space, onyx and amber floors running through women’s ready-to-wear, garden terrace intended for stylish luncheons, VIP shopping room and specially commissioned artwork throughout.

All of this serves as the backdrop for the main attraction: The Louis Vuitton brand’s signature goods, which have been drawing moneyed consumers of a certain taste from around the world for more than 250 years.

No doubt those iconic monogram canvas bags spring to mind, but the label actually began as a travel goods company in the late 19th century; since then, it has added to its offerings ready-to-wear — now under the auspices of fashion legend Marc Jacobs — along with scarves, shoes, watches, sunglasses, swimwear and jewelry. And a fragrance is in the works.

So why did the brand defect to Aventura from its previous digs in the Bal Harbour Shops? Says David Goubert, senior vice president/southern region of Louis Vuitton, “This location allows us to reach a broader audience of clientele and, more importantly, to expand the offerings of products and services — including bespoke services that are only available in a handful of locations around the world.”